Department of Virginia

Posted at 05:37 PM on Monday, July 23, 2007 by Virginia Blogmaster

In this issue:

1. House VA Committee Approves 4 Bills
2. VFW Testifies on VA Vet Centers
3. Traumatic Brain Injury Hearing Held

1. House VA Committee Approves 4 Bills
The House Veterans Affairs Committee approved four bills to improve benefits and health care for veterans. VFW supported bills include:
- HR 2874 – Increases care for homeless and low-income veterans, authorizes a new grant program for re-adjustment counseling for vets who served after 1991, and provides grants for transportation for rural veterans to state veterans’ offices, VSOs and other nonprofit groups.
- HR 2623 – Bans VA from collecting co-payments for hospice care.
- HR 1315 – Increases adaptive housing grants to $14,000 for family members who have a disabled veteran living in their home. It also extended mortgage foreclosure protection for returning veterans from 90 to 180 days.
- One bill (HR 23), which grants a $1,000 monthly benefit for life to merchant mariners and/or their surviving spouses, passed the House committee. The VFW does not support this legislation.
All of the bills now move to the full House for a vote.

For more information on any of the bills, type the bill number into the box at: http://thomas.loc.gov/

2 .VFW Testifies on VA Vet Centers
VFW testified before the House VA Subcommittee on Health on the VA’s Vet Centers. Vet Centers provide readjustment counseling for veterans thru a vet-helping-vet motto. They remain an integral part of VA services that are provided to veterans, and have earned high praise from veterans on the quality and variety of services provided. VFW and others testified that they are concerned about access and future demands as veterans from OIF /OEF return from service.
For more on the hearing and VFW testimony, go to: http://veterans.house.gov/hearings/index.html

3. Traumatic Brain Injury Hearing Held
The House VA Committee invited several experts to discuss Traumatic Brain Injury issues facing veterans. Considered the “signature” wound of the war in Iraq, TBI has been reported in 65% of veterans treated at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Participants discussed the need for a coordinated effort for case management for TBI patients, not just during the initial injury phase, but throughout the life of the patient. Also noted was the importance of educating and training family members on what to expect from their TBI patient. For more information on the hearing, go to the House VA website at: http://veterans.house.gov/